


Prom Night

by MoonlightBreeze



Category: Detroit Evolution - Fandom, Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: (and he gets that hug), Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Boys In Love, Connor & Upgraded Connor | RK900 are Siblings, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, Gavin Reed Being Less of an Asshole, Gavin Reed Needs a Hug, Gavin Reed is Bad at Feelings, Human Upgraded Connor | RK900, Light Angst, M/M, Mentions of COVID-19, Mentions of bad self image, My First Work in This Fandom, Prom, SO MUCH FLUFF, Soft Gavin Reed, Soft Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed, Tina Chen & Gavin Reed Friendship, basically this is probably the most au thing I'll ever write, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:01:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26551780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonlightBreeze/pseuds/MoonlightBreeze
Summary: Gavin just wants a senior prom, but COVID-19 has other ideas. Featuring Nines 'Best Boyfriend Ever' Anderson.
Relationships: Tina Chen & Gavin Reed, Tina Chen & Upgraded Connor | RK900, Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Comments: 6
Kudos: 46





	Prom Night

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys! As some of you may know, I'm primarily a Shadowhunters account, but I have a lot more fandoms and I've recently taken a shine to Detroit: Become Human and the fan film Detroit Evolution. This is my first time writing for these fandoms and it's my first time writing Reed900, so I hope the characters aren't too OOC!
> 
> I will probably write more Reed900 and maybe some Hank & Connor father/son fic at a later date. I _love_ this fandom and it's quickly climbing my list to grab itself a place in my top five favourite fandoms.
> 
> This fic is set in modern times and is a high school AU. Gavin is disappointed that he doesn't get to have a senior prom because of COVID-19, and Nines seeks to change that. 
> 
> I really hope you like this! Kudos make my day and comments validate my existence, so please feel free to leave those, if you want :) And as always, I hope you have a wonderful day/night!
> 
> ~ Em

Gavin shifted uncomfortably in his seat as the intercom overhead crackled to life. He knew what the announcement would be. He’d been trying not to get his hopes up all year, but he had failed miserably. He’d allowed himself to daydream about spinning lights, the sound of laughter filling a large room, the firm beat of Nines’ heart against his own. He’d allowed himself to hope that maybe he would be allowed this, maybe God or the universe or whatever was behind the fucking virus would let him have this one thing. 

The world was uncertain, and Gavin understood that better than most. It wasn’t like he didn’t get why he couldn’t have the prom he’d wanted. No, of course he _understood._ That didn’t mean he had to like it. Gavin’s mom had called him selfish when he said he wanted to have a senior prom. But Gavin’s entire world had been turned upside down thanks to the coronavirus, and dammit, he just wanted this one fucking dance! Was that really too much to ask?

It was all he’d wanted out of this year, his last year of high school, the last year he’d spend in this hellhole of a town filled with intolerant people and prejudice so thick he was afraid to fucking breathe sometimes. 

But of course, _of course_ , he wasn’t going to get it. 

“...important message for students and staff...due to COVID-19, we will no longer be hosting a senior prom this year…”

Gavin tuned out the rest of the announcement, biting his lip hard. He didn’t need to hear it. He was sure it was just some bullshit lie about how sorry the administration was and information about refunds that he could get later from Tina. He tried not to be too disappointed. 

_There will be other proms_ , he reminded himself. 

_Not your_ senior _prom,_ his mind supplied, and Gavin stared bitterly at his desk. His teacher was saying something, probably apologising to all of the students who wouldn’t get a prom this year, but he didn’t care. It was all empty apologies anyway. None of the staff _actually_ cared about the students. Gavin scoffed bitterly. They never had, and they never would.

Thinking about Gavin’s high school career so far made his stomach churn, and he opened his phone to text Nines. He couldn’t dwell on _that_ particular train of thought for long, or he’d find himself right back in the same spiral he’d just managed to dig himself out of.

_G: Did you hear the announcement?_

A second later, his phone dinged with a response from Nines. 

_N: Yeah. I’m sorry, Gavin. I know how much that prom meant to you._

Gavin sighed quietly. Nines was right, it _did_ mean a lot to him. Gavin hadn’t exactly had an easy life, and he wanted a senior prom, just one dance to make him feel normal, make him feel like a person again. At his senior prom, he didn’t have to be ‘Poor little Gavin’ or ‘Insomniac Gavin’ or even ‘Gay boy Gavin’. He could just be a normal teenager having fun at his senior prom. He didn’t have to be everything that people called him, everything that he called himself, everything he’d ever been known as. He could just be _Gavin_. 

Gavin realised belatedly that his eyes had filled with tears. He blinked them away angrily. He was being stupid. For fuck’s sake, it was just a dance. He shook himself and typed out a reply to Nines’ text. 

_G: It’s fine, it’s just a dance._

If he repeated it to himself enough times, maybe he would start to believe it. 

~ ~ ~

Nines frowned down at his phone, his fingers hovering over the reply button. He wasn’t sure what to say. Gavin was obviously more upset than he was letting on, but Nines didn’t know how to help him. It wasn’t like he could change the administration’s decision or make the virus go away. He wished he had the power to pull the nation out of a pandemic, even if it was just for the sake of his boyfriend, but he didn’t. 

Tina, Gavin’s best friend, nudged Nines’ arm. “Is he okay?”

Nines didn’t have to ask who she was referring to. “He said he’s fine.”

“And you believed him?”

Nines chuckled. “Of course not. What do you take me for?”

Tina gave him a brief smile, doodling in the margins of her notebook. “I wish there was something we could do.”

“Me too.” Nines frowned. “He was looking forward to this all year.” He gazed down at his hands, running a nail along the side of his index finger absentmindedly. “I asked him why it was so important to him once.”

Tina winced. “Bet that didn’t go over too well.”

Nines smiled fondly. “No, not particularly.”

The pair fell silent for a minute, the teacher’s lecture flowing into their minds but not quite settling in to stay. Nines wished he could fix the state that the nation was in. Gavin didn’t deserve to have his senior year hijacked like this. Hell, _he_ didn’t deserve it. None of them did. 

Nines fingered the face mask in his pocket. It was cloth, and he liked the slogan on the front of it. His foster dad had picked it up for him at a nearby store, and Nines had to admit that he was extremely fond of it. 

Gavin hated it. 

Gavin hated everything to do with COVID-19, and Nines couldn’t blame him. The virus was ruining what should have been Gavin’s moment to shine. Gavin had been talking about their senior year, about getting out of this town and this school and this godforsaken community since the day they met in 9th grade. When they began to date in 11th, he talked about it even more. Gavin hated it here, but Nines knew that his hatred was borne from a deep-seated desire to be accepted, to feel like he belonged, and the students at this school would never give him that. 

The senior prom was meant to be Gavin’s moment to finally be himself, to have fun and laugh with his friends and show his classmates that he could thrive and find his own happiness without them or their acceptance. Nines had been Gavin’s boyfriend for nearly two years, his best friend for almost four. He knew this, even if Gavin wouldn’t say it. 

Sadness curled tightly in Nines’ chest. What was happening wasn’t fair, and he had to do _something_. Gavin deserved something good, a fond memory to look back on. He didn’t deserve to have a senior year tainted by nothing but disappointment after disappointment. 

“He needs something that’ll make him smile,” Nines mused, twirling a pen between his fingers. “Between the virus, planning for college, and adapting to all of these changes, this year has been awful. He needs something good. We all do.”

Tina nodded solemnly. “Agreed.” Her hand tightened around her pencil and she began to shade her drawing with more force than strictly necessary. “After the years he had before this one, I really thought the world would decide to give him a break for a while.” She shook her head and stopped her movements when she nearly poked a hole through the page with her pencil. “I should have known that the universe doesn’t have a sense of right and wrong. It’s still not fair. He of all people deserves to be happy, especially right now.”

“Exactly,” Nines agreed. 

Nines understood why Gavin wouldn’t want to speak about the senior prom; in Gavin’s eyes, he was sure, it seemed like a stupid thing to be upset about. But he also knew that the prom was just one more in a series of disappointments, and Gavin had every right to feel bleak about the world right now. They’d dealt with so many changes and life had knocked him and Gavin over again and again and again this year. It was like pouring salt on a wound. 

“I _have_ to do this for him,” Nines announced. He flipped to a new page in his notebook and began making a list. “What are some ideas you have? What would make him smile, give him a good memory?”

“Hmm.” Tina put down her pencil and furrowed her brow in thought. “Maybe a date? Somewhere he likes to go?” Her eyes widened. “The first place you two went together!”

Nines added Tina’s suggestion to the list, chewing his lip in thought. “Do you think he’d appreciate something funny? I know ventriloquy.”

Tina raised an eyebrow. “You’re a ventriloquist?”

Nines blushed. “I dabble.” Tina gave him an impressed look and made a gesture with her hands that Nines took to mean he should add it to the list. 

“I want something he’ll remember for the rest of his life,” Nines mused. “Like what the prom would’ve been.”

“Why don’t you give him a prom of his very own?”

Nines’ eyebrows shot up into his hairline. “What do you mean?”

Tina’s eyes sparkled and she leaned forward in her chair with excitement. “I mean, you set up a prom for him!” She began to grin, gesticulating wildly. “Chris and I can help you with decorations and I’ll take Gavin shopping with me to buy a suit. I’ll say it’s for a charity dinner I want him to come with me to or something. You can hold it in your apartment, it’s big enough. And I’m sure Hank and Connor wouldn’t mind.”

Nines grinned. “Tina, you’re a genius.”

“I know.” She gave Nines an impish smile and gestured at the list impatiently. “Come on, we have to plan this thing!”

Nines shot her a grateful smile and began to write. 

~ ~ ~

Gavin quirked an eyebrow in Tina’s direction. “T, this isn’t the way to City Hall.”

She gave Gavin a sly smile and said, “Yeah, I know.”

“Are you plannin’ on tellin’ me what the hell’s goin’ on anytime soon?”

“Nope,” Tina replied, popping the ‘p’. She turned down a familiar street corner and Gavin narrowed his eyes in suspicion. 

“Why are we on Nines’ street?”

“It’s a surprise,” Tina said, rolling her eyes. “Now shut up and stop fiddling with your tie.”

Gavin shot her a dirty look, but rested his hands on the doorjamb obediently. Before long, they were in front of Nines’ apartment. It looked dim, which was very unusual, and Gavin noticed that Hank’s car wasn’t in the garage. He shook his head, eyebrows scrunching together. He was so confused. 

“Go in,” Tina instructed him. “It’ll all make sense in a minute.” Begrudgingly, Gavin did as he was told, slipping out of the car and thanking her for the ride. He straightened his suit and walked up to the apartment door, ringing the loud buzzer to announce his arrival. 

“It’s open!” Gavin heard Nines call from within. Gavin’s eyebrows furrowed. Nines’ father, Hank, was a police lieutenant. There was no way Nines would leave his front door unlocked like that. 

Gavin turned the knob and stepped inside the apartment cautiously. He was wildly unprepared for the sight that greeted him. 

Navy blue streamers were draped from the ceiling fans, and it seemed that Nines had blown up a variety of disco ball-esque balloons. Gavin recognised one of the paper lanterns from his childhood hanging from the refrigerator. It was a little crooked, like whoever had hung it wasn’t quite tall enough to reach the top of the fridge. He had to smile. He knew that Nines’ little brother, Connor, must have been the one to hang it. 

In the center of it all was a large table (Gavin suspected it was the Andersons’ dining table with the leaf taken out of it) covered in a pretty navy blue tablecloth. A few dishes sat on the table, and Gavin’s sharp eyes picked out the familiar outline of chicken wings. His mouth watered. 

“Nines?” Gavin called. He was smiling now, even though he still wasn’t entirely sure what was going on. “Nines, where are you?”

There were some heavy footsteps and the creak of Nines’ bedroom door opening, and then the other boy was standing in front of him, practically vibrating with excitement and wearing a smile that could light up a room. Gavin inhaled sharply and felt his lips stretching into a wide grin. 

Nines was wearing a suit that clung to his curves and highlighted the bright blue of his eyes. Gavin would be lying if he said it didn’t take his breath away for a second. Pinned to his breastbone was an orange tiger lily, and Nines’ tuxedo jacket was draped across his arm like it belonged there. 

He looked, he looked...he looked _stunning_. 

“Nines? W-What is all this?” Gavin didn’t know what to think, and he had a feeling that he was about to be blown away by his boyfriend (not for the first time). This was all so beautiful, and Nines had put such _care_ into it, and shit, Gavin didn’t deserve all of this. 

“It’s your senior prom,” Nines said proudly. He gestured around the room to indicate the decorations. “Tina, Chris, Hank, and Connor helped me set it all up.” He grinned at Gavin. “Do you like it?” A hint of nervousness bled into his voice, and Gavin stepped forward, grabbing Nines’ hands with his own. 

“Nines, I love it.”

Nines sighed in relief and gave his hands a squeeze. “Good, I’m so glad.” He pressed his thumb to Gavin’s cheekbone softly. “I wanted to see you smile again.”

Gavin felt like his heart might explode if the other boy was any sweeter to him. “Nines, I - ”

Nines cut him off, placing a finger over his lips in a gesture that Gavin was all too familiar with. It was simultaneously telling him to stop rambling and that he loved Gavin’s rambles. It was infinitely comforting, and Gavin smiled around Nines’ finger, resisting the urge to press a kiss to it. 

“There’s no need, Gavin,” Nines said softly. “I wanted to do this. For you. For me. For us.” 

Gavin swallowed hard. He didn’t know what he’d done to deserve someone like Nines, but there wouldn’t be a day in his life when he wasn’t grateful for him. 

“Come on,” Nines said, pulling back just enough to take Gavin’s hand and lead him towards the table. “We should get dinner. There’s a lot for us to do tonight.” Gavin smiled softly and allowed himself to be led to his chair. Nines reached into his pocket and pulled out a rather crushed tiger lily, presenting it to Gavin with a flourish. “Your corsage.”

Gavin laughed and pinned the flower to his lapel. “Thanks, Nines.”

Nines winked in a terrible impression of Connor and said, “Only the best for the best.” With that, he sat down opposite Gavin and said, “We’ve got wings, ribs, burgers - everything your grease-filled heart could desire.” His lip curled inwards on the last syllable, and Gavin could barely contain his laughter at Nines’ expression. 

“Where’s your salad, huh?” Gavin said, reaching for the plate of wings. 

“It’s in the fridge,” Nines mumbled, giving Gavin a look that was a cross between scandalized and pouty. Gavin made a shooing motion with his hands, and Nines reluctantly stood and retrieved his salad from the refrigerator. 

Gavin made a show of pretending to vomit, and Nines rolled his eyes fondly at his partner. He couldn’t stop smiling. For all their banter and all of the shit they gave each other, there was no one else in the world that he would rather go to prom (official or unofficial) with. 

~ ~ ~

By the time they were finished eating and Nines had cleared the dinner dishes, Gavin was seriously beginning to wonder how much more love he could take. It made his eyes mist over to think about the room, and how much work Nines had put into making this special for him. 

For _him_. Gavin couldn’t quite reconcile that in his mind. Nines had done all of this for _him_. 

Nines reached for Gavin, wiggling his fingers impatiently in a gesture that made fondness creep into Gavin’s heart. He took Nines’ outstretched hand and allowed the other boy to lead him down the stairs and into the basement. 

Gavin _stared_. 

Nines had converted the basement into a makeshift dance floor. Fairy lights were hanging from the walls, and several paper lanterns and other ornaments hung from hooks in the ceiling. Nines had turned the lights in the room down low, so the only illumination was from the star-shaped fairy lights and the patch of mid-evening sunlight filtering in through the basement window. It bathed the room in a sort of ethereal glow that made Gavin ache to touch, hold Nines close to him, simply _love_ and _feel_ in a way he usually never did. 

It was intoxicating. 

Before Nines had a chance to glance back at Gavin and ask him if he liked the setup, Gavin lunged forward and wrapped his arms around Nines’ neck, burying his face in the other boy’s shoulder. “Nines,” he croaked embarrassingly. “God, Nines, I - this is too much, I can’t believe you did all this for me - ”

Nines pulled back just enough to meet Gavin’s eyes, and he said, “This is not even close to enough, Gavin. This is the bare minimum compared to how I feel about you.”

“Nines,” Gavin whined. “You’re gonna make me cry.”

“No tears,” Nines said, smiling softly. He pressed a light kiss to the corner of Gavin’s mouth. “You deserve this. This is your night. I won’t let you say anything to the contrary.”

Gavin groaned and pulled Nines into another hug. “If that’s your goal, you’ve got your work cut out for ya.” 

“Nonsense,” Nines replied, slipping his arms around Gavin’s waist. “I am well-versed in your particular art of self-deprecation.”

Gavin huffed out a laugh against Nines’ chest. “That’s not somethin’ to be proud of.”

“To me, it is.”

The first song crackled through the Bluetooth speaker Nines had set up, and Gavin laughed, a real, genuine sound that made Nines smile. 

“This song? Really?”

“What?” Nines asked innocently. “The Internet claims that it is a ‘classic’.” 

“You’re incorrigible.” 

“I assure you that I am more than capable of change, Mr. Reed,” Nines replied haughtily. “But I don’t think you particularly _want_ me to change, is that correct?”

“Oh, whatever,” Gavin groused. “Shut up and dance with me.”

And so he did. 

**Author's Note:**

> [Stalk me on Tumblr](http://moonlight-breeze-44.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Prompts are open! (I originally opened my inbox for Shadowhunters prompts, but I am now taking DBH and DE prompts, as well! Any ship is welcome.)


End file.
